Teleworking Guidelines 4.2.2021 are now available [1].
The Commission has sent the vast majority of colleagues home to telework, following the Guidelines on teleworking in Commission departments during the Covid-19 pandemic [2] and their subsequent update [1]. In this article, we explain these guidelines – however, please do invest the time to read the guidelines yourself! It is not necessary to read the first version as the update replaces it completely as of 1 April 2020. The explanations below uses the updated guidelines as their base.
Who is affected?
The new guidelines apply in principle to everybody in the Commission. They do not apply to the EU delegations – these are under the responsibility of the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Who has to come to work even during the crisis?
Colleagues doing critical/essential tasks still have to come to the workplace. However, there are specific guidelines to be followed, see below.
I perform non-critical tasks, but cannot execute these activities remotely
Special leave will be granted to you – you must not come to the office.
How long will this last?
The compulsory telework started on Monday, 16 March 2020 and is planned until Sunday, 19 April. The Commission will monitor the situation and act as necessary – which means that it will extend the period as necessary. If the school/kindergarten of your children is closed and you need time to home-school your children, you should discuss this with your line manager and come to an agreement on which core tasks you need to perform.
I was on structural telework before – do I have to change anything there?
It depends. If you work no more than 8 hours a day, you do not need to change anything. If you work more than 8 hours on these days, you can register this additional time only if
- you withdraw the structural telework for these days (no need to withdraw the entire agreement, just for the days concerned) and
- encode the worked hours manually as ‘work at the workplace’.
Can I telework from my home country?
Short and general answer (see below for exceptions): No!
The authorities are trying to minimise travel to contain the infections as far as possible. The Commission will not undermine these efforts by sending colleagues all over Europe! The only exception is if your home country is a neighbouring country of your place of work and you can still come to the office in a reasonable time (a couple of hours) – which means that you probably live there already.
Exceptional cases:
- A health system that can no longer cope with the outbreak will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the director-general of DG HR.
- If your spouse and/or dependent children reside permanently in another Member State, you may telework from there.
- If you are already on special leave due to a serious illness of a family member, you can continue teleworking from the relative’s place of residence after the end of the leave.
Colleagues with critical tasks
Even if you are performing critical tasks, you may still have to telework for at least 14 days if:
- you have had close contact with someone confirmed as having Covid-19
- You have a sick family member at home with all Covid-19 symptoms (even if it is not a confirmed case). In this case, telework applies as long as necessary, based on medical advice,
- You have an increased risk of adverse outcome of a possible Covid-19 infection. Examples: pregnancy, aged over 63, some chronic diseases – please consult the guidelines for a more detailed list).
I perform a critical task – do I really have to come every day?
Please consult your line manager who should inform you about the organisation of the work. The Commission proposes that these colleagues work in shifts: one team works one week in the office, the next week from home. The other team has a counter-cycle, so that only one shift is ever in the office. The teams must be organised such that a backup exists in team B if someone from team A falls ill.
A word from Generation 2004
This is an exceptional situation for all of us and we thank the colleagues who are working hard to coordinate the response against the virus and who ensure a functioning work environment. If you find something that should be improved or changed, please do contact us [3]. In any case, take care!
Please check our articles on teleworking [4].